It’s been a tough start for Brent Brennan at San Jose State, going 3-22 in two years. It probably won’t get too much better in year three, as while QB Josh Love returns, most of the defense does not.
Offense
San Jose State was a pass-first team last year, and they had a solid Mountain West quarterback in Josh Love who did alright for the talent around him, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. Just two of the top seven pass-catchers return, but they were the two with the most big-play potential in Tre Walker (18.3 YPC, five touchdowns) and Bailey Gaither (20.4 YPC, three touchdowns) both missed significant time last year but should be healthy in 2019. More than just two guys need to step up, sophomore Leki Nunn and junior JaQuan Blackwell are two guys with big potential.
Last year’s top rusher, Tyler Nevens, returns after averaging 4.1 yards per carry last year. All five starters return on the line and 305-pound Minnesota grad transfer Quinn Oseland will come to challenge at tackle. The run game improving should offset any regression in the passing game.
Defense
Boogie Roberts, Bryson Bridges, and Dakari Moore are among the losses on the defensive side of the ball, but some interesting pieces do return. End Cade Hall (three sacks, 1.5 TFL) is back on the line, and last year’s top two tacklers, Ethan Aguayo and Jesse Osuna return after combining for two sacks, 12 TFL, six PBUs, and three picks last year along with 199 tackles.
A couple of guys who dealt with injuries last year return in S Chandler Hawkins and NT Saliosi Latu. This will not be a good defense but they could improve on last year’s very poor numbers.
2019 Outlook
San Jose State is a tough job, and they should improve after last year’s one win year, but this will be a bottom 25 team in the country again even if they overachieve. The schedule is rough, but opportunities for wins are there, especially against Northern Colorado and New Mexico. This will be a tough year, but Brennan is starting to get recruiting back on track.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | opp. rank | Proj. Margin |
| 29-Aug | Northern Colorado | NR | n/a |
| 7-Sep | Tulsa | 98 | -4.4 |
| 21-Sep | at Arkansas | 68 | -15.0 |
| 27-Sep | at Air Force | 97 | -10.6 |
| 4-Oct | New Mexico | 117 | 3.2 |
| 12-Oct | at Nevada | 95 | -11.5 |
| 19-Oct | San Diego State | 66 | -9.3 |
| 26-Oct | at Army | 78 | -14.1 |
| 2-Nov | Boise State | 32 | -14.2 |
| 9-Nov | at Hawaii | 102 | -10.0 |
| 23-Nov | at UNLV | 108 | -7.2 |
| 30-Nov | Fresno State | 51 | -12.1 |
Average Projected Record: 3.7 wins, 8.3 losses (2.1 wins, 5.9 losses)